July 7, 2017

This concert was recorded live on October 18th, 2013 at the Secret Place in Saint-Jean-de-Védas, when we opened for Hypno5e. It was an important date for several reasons.
First, of course, opening for Hypno5e- they are a very respected French metal band, they have toured everywhere and with massive international bands, and they are from Montpellier as well!
Second, this show was taking place at the Secret Place- one of Montpellier/St-Jean-De-Vedas iconic rock venues, where we never got the chance to play before. People there were amazing, we were very well received, and it's the kind of experience you don't forget.
Finally, this concert would be the final performance of Between The Zones as a four-piece band in the post-"Shiftings" album era. Sadly, our bassist Nicolas wasn't available for this show, but we couldn't cancel such an opportunity to play with Hypno5e, so 1 month before the concert we asked my little brother Maxime to fill in for Nico. He worked his ass off and was able to learn the songs very quickly. We did only 2 rehearsals with Maxime, and it directly felt smooth and natural.
The concert itself went pretty well... I was pretty stressed (I think it shows when you listen to the moments inbetween songs when I talk to the audience) but musically we delivered what we could do best and this is one of the reasons why I decided to publish this, almost 4 years after the show.

I suppose some of you might wonder why releasing an old concert.
To be honest, I almost forgot that we had the recordings for this show (a stereo export from the mixing console, and an ambiant recording of the concert room), and I re-found the audio files in May 2017... After I listened a few times to the thing, I really thought "dammit, it wasn't bad!"- I mean, as you know, BTZ is not a live band anymore. We went back to this "ghostly existence" as I call it; making songs on computer, working remotely with eachother, and releasing songs and videos directly on the internet. BUT, in 2013, we were still a bunch of guys meeting every sunday afternoon in a rehearsal room and playing our songs, to make our music alive, and of course be ready for concerts, etc etc. So I thought: since this concert was the last of this era and that I had both audio footage and some videos as well, I should mix it and publish it, as a proof of what the band used to be between 2008 and 2013. A proof, a testimony, an evidence. Fun fact: in French, 'évidence' has a different meaning- it is the word that you can translate by 'obviousness' in English and I thought it was completely relevant in both meanings.
Personally, even if I still love making music for BTZ on my computer, playing for several years with these guys, who became like brothers to me, was an experience I will always cherish. Something that will remain very close to the idea I have of rock music and what collective creative work should be...

'Nuff said! This album is available for free on the Bandcamp of Délivrances. Enjoy! :)

May 13, 2017

Troubles just got a pretty nice review in the latest issue (#27) of W-Fenec Magazine! We would like to send huge and warm thanks to them, and we invite you to read the last issue here:

Also, not directly BTZ-related but still music-related:

I recorded/mixed a song and shot a video with my friend (and gifted guitar player!) Benjamin for the contest #OldiesButBaddies organized by Spectre Sound Studios - we chose to make a metal cover of a cheesy French pop song from the 60's by Françoise Hardy!

Feel free to add some "blue thumbs up" if you want to support the music :)

April 12, 2017

Here is our remix of "VLV", by French rap artist L.O.A.S!
I started working on this for fun last summer (back in june 2016, lol) using a home-made acappella track, and L.O.A.S was kind enough to send me his original vocal track so I could finish the remix. Mastering was once again done by Lulu from Primate Audio / Stolearm.

February 13, 2017

This second album is the outcome of 2 years and a half of struggling with life, influences, mixing, and the need for the project to survive with all band members living in different places.

Later I will probably tell you more about the writing/recording process behind the album and why I chose this name, but meanwhile, you can discover the music here (and of course, order the cd version if you like physical souvenirs):

Troubles will be available for free in digital download but also in a limited edition CD, already available for pre-order on the Bandcamp of Délivrances, our collective/netlabel! 50 copies will be made, but we will give away only 30 of them! (Others are mainly for promotional use.)

BTZ in a nutshell

Between The Zones is a shape-shifting rock and metal project, founded in late 2005 in Montpellier (southern France).After composing and playing live as a five-piece band in the Montpellier area between 2008 and 2013, BTZ became a studio entity and created its own netlabel, Délivrances. The project is partially relocated in Warsaw (Poland) since 2016.

BTZ is part of the Délivrances independent art collective and netlabel.